Envelop



- UNITED STATES PATENT oEEioE.

HENRY s. GILBERTSON, or EAs'r onAneE, E JERSEY.

T azz whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, HENRY S. GILBER'rsON, acitizen of the United States of America,

',.residing.at No. 57 Harrison street, East Grange, ingthe countyv of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Envelops, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to envelope and aims to provide certain improvements therein. f

The invention isv particularly designed for use in connection with return envelops which are usually inclosed in advertising letters and other mail matter-to which it is desired to obtain replies. In some classes of advertising where a large percentage of responses is certain to be obtained it is sometimes advisable "to inclose a self-addressed envelop duly stamped for reply. In most cases, however, the percentage of responses is small and the expense of stamped return envelope is unjustified. 'At the same time, this percentage can be increased by the prepayment of replies. Theprincipal object of the present invention is to facilitate a method by which only those replies which are received may be prepaid. 7 The invention also provides a means by which such mail matter .can be easily and economically handled by the post office without danger of loss. 7 r

To this end I provide an envelop which will he usually self-addressed and which has. a coupon attached thereto or forming an integral part thereof, the coupon bearing either the name of the original sender or an identifying symbol of some suitable kind. Preferably also, the envelop will bear on its body portion a legend such as"Postage' prepaid or some other indication to the collecting post office which will indicate that the envelop is to be duly forwarded to the address and which may serve in lieu of a stamp for purposes of cancellation by the collectingpost oiiice. The invention also includes eertainother features of improve ment which will be hereinafter-more fully described.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate several forms of the invention,-

Figure '1 is a plan view of one form of envelop blank suited for the purpose;

Specification of Letters Patent.

. i ENVELOP.

Patented Oct. 21, 1919.

Application filed June 20, 1916. Serial No. 104,699.

Fin. 2 is a view of the envelop of Fig. 1, folded and in condition for use;

Fig. 3 is a view of the reverse side of the envelopof Fig. 2 with the flap sealed;

Fig. dis a plan of a modified form of envelop;

F ig. 5 is a view of the envelop when folded; and 1 p y v Fig. 6 is a view reverse to Fig. 5 showing the envelop sealed.

Ina preferred form of the invention such as illustrated in Fig. 1, for instance, the coupon is made as an integral part of the envelop body, but other constructions may be adopted which will secure the same result. 7 V v v 7 Referring first to Fig. 1, let A indicate the blank as a whole which is formed with a body portion comprising the parts Band C, the part Cbeing folded overupon the part B along a line such as D. Both the parts B and C have coupon ends designated by the reference letters E and F respectively At the extreme left the part B is preferably formed with a flap G and at its top portion with a sealing flap H. The flap G is gummed as is also the sealing flap II, and the coupon end E is also preferably pro vided with three bands of gum I, J and K. In folding the blank the body portion 0 is folded along the line D and the coupon end F is thereby brought into contact with'the coupon end E and adheres thereto along the. gummed bands I and J. This leaves a portion L of the couponend E extending beyond the envelop and this is folded back along the line M over the; top of the coupon end F. The flap Gr is folded over the end of the body portion C. When the operation is complete an envelop is provided whichhasa letter-receiving recess N as shown in Fig. 2, which is adapted to be closed by the sealing flap H, and beyond the letter-rcceiving recess isthe coupon O.

The face of the envelop will ordinarily be provided withv the name of the advertiser and the coupon will have applied thereto either the advertisers name, or some, indicia which will represent the advertiser, such, for instance, as a number or letter to gether with the'name of the city, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. In use the envelop will beinclosed with the advertising matter;

and it will be necessary only for those who wish to reply to the advertisement to place the letter or other inclosure in the .letter-.

receiving recessN, seal it on the flap end and deposit the envelop in the mail without 7 the inconvenience or expense of attaching a stamp. The letter will be collected in the ply) in order that the coupon itself may be usual way by the collecting post ofiice, the words Postage paid or other similar indication being canceled, and the letter forwarded as first class mail. At the receiving post office such letters will be collected in stacks and placed under an ordinary cutting machine which will cut a large number of coupons at one time and the letters will then be distributed in the usual way either by carrier or otherwise. The receiving post oflice will sort the various coupons received in a day or other period, so that the coupons of various concerns may be separated out, and these coupons will then be presented to the various advertisers or other senders for redemption or be charged against a deposit. By this means the handling of the mail is facilitated, it being necessary only for the post oflice to collect in 'bulk the postal charges on all of the envelops of the concerns by whom they are issued, so that the d li r of the mail will not be d y The work of sorting the coupons may be done at leisure and by unskilled labor. The invention avoids the collection of due postage'with" its delays and liability of loss and restricts accounting for the postalservice thus afforded to the advertiser to a postmaster or other responsible official of a par ticular post oifice.

, The construction described facilitates the various operations thus referred to. In the use of ordinary envelops having adiamond shaped body certain portions thereof are composed of four thiclmesses of paper and such envelops do not stack well for the cutting operation. In the preferred form of the present invention such portions are avoided. 7 Furthermore, I have found that it is much preferable to provide a coupon which has at least three thicknesses of paper so that the coupon end which is to be out off 7 shall approach the body of the envelop including it contents in thickness or be equal thereto, particularly at the line of severance.

This line, which is indicated at P, in Figs. 2 and 3, is best located near the end of the body portion. It will be observed that the gummed band I (see Fig. 1) is of suflicient breadth so that it not only serves to cause an adherence between the coupon end F and the coupon end E, but also serves to close the right hand end of the body portion of the Y envelop. Furthermore, this gummed band is wideenough so that extreme accuracy need-not be observed in cutting the coupons by machine. It is at this line of severance that it is important for the coupon to, be of sufficient thickness to at least approximately correspond with the thickness of the bodyofthe envelop and its usualcontents since'otherwisethe operation of cutting is diflicult and inaccurate.- It is best, however, 'to have the complete coupon of a given th ckness throughout, (in the drawing three handled and stacked easily during the time when it is in use in the post oflice.

I have observed also that in the cutting of large stacks of envelops, the air contained within the envelop is apt to 'interfere to some extent with the proper stacking and cutting. To avoid'this I'prefer to form a vent such as Q, in the envelop, which is shown as a mere'notch cut in one edgeof the body portion.

J and the coupon flap X will'fold over these parts and its end gum to the top thereof by' means of the gum band' Y. r The sealing flap Z is, in this construction, located at the end. It will be observed in this construction also that the coupon is'composed of a plurality of thicknesses greater than two and that itis of even thickness throughout so that when it is severed it will lie flat and be easily stacked. The line of severance-isindicated at P in Figs; 5 and 6. This line'of severancemay be designatedby a line on'the envelop or the material 7 may be 1 perforated or otherwise weakened at this point if desired.

While the principal use of 'my invention 7 is that described, nevertheless, the invention finds other fields of usefulness where it is desired to keep an original record or voucher of mail matter either within or without the ofiice which issues the same. V I 7 While I have shown and described several forms of the invention, it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto since various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is 1. An envelop consisting of a por-- tion affordinga receiving recess which is closed at one end, and a coupon afforded by a continuation of the body portion and ex tending from said closed end of the recess, the-coupon being formed of more than'two plies of material and having a; thiclmess ap-' proximately equal to that of thebody portion when-the recess is'nor'mally filled.

2. An envelop consisting of a body portion affording a receiving recess which is closed at one end, and a coupon afiordedby a,con tinuation of the body portion andextending from said closed end of the recess, the

coupon being separable from the body portion and possessing a thickness approximately equal to that of the body portion when normally filled.

3. An envelop consisting of a body portion affording a receiving recess which is closed at one end, and a coupon afforded by a continuation of the body portion and mo tending from said closed end of the recess,

10 the body portion having an air vent to the recess, and the coupon having a thickness approximating that of the body portion when normally filled.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing 15 Goplu of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner 0! Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

